Mothers’ thinking regarding siblings performing medical procedures on the child requiring medical care

Abstract

 This study aimed to clarify the thinking of mothers of children who require medical care regarding siblings performing medical procedures such as suctioning or tube feeding for the child requiring care. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven mothers who are the main caregivers of children requiring medical care. Further, a qualitative and inductive analysis was conducted, which led to the extraction of 8 categories and 19 subcategories from the mothers’ responses. Although mothers wanted to prioritize siblings’ lives over the latter’s performance of medical procedures, they also cherished the siblings’ thoughts regarding these procedures. Some mothers considered it normal for siblings to perform medical procedures for the child requiring care and thus helping the family. They wanted the siblings to share a good relationship with the child who needed medical care and were positive that performing medical procedures for the child requiring care would enhance the siblings’ personal growth. Although mothers did not want siblings to be burdened with medical procedures, they still wanted to know what willing siblings feel, so that they can help the latter safely perform the medical procedures without feeling burdened. Thus, this study suggests that the thoughts of mothers should be respected when considering policies to support families of children who need medical care.